Turbo Dude's First Drive - 2013 eLeaf Impressions

[Iowa92x]

Chirped tires on a Leaf test drive tonight out of Des Moines, Iowa. My first time piloting an electric, it was a pleasant experience. Plenty of grunt from the light, solid punch even from 30 MPH on up. The lack of a gas burner up front applified conversation and road noise.

I didn't realize the charger at the Nissan dealership is L2, not L3, so would probably opt out of the L3 port since there are none in town. The LED headlights are a techno touch I want, but unfortunately bundled in a port $$ package. Wonder if Cree is supplying the lights?

Never leased before, prefer to purchase outright and pay her off in two or three years. But the Leaf is begging for a lease, with a big bertha Li-ion that some sites claim is worth $18,000 (http://green.autoblog.com/2010/05/15/nissan-leaf-profitable-by-year-three-battery-cost-closer-to-18/). I've seen people on this site peg the battery at $6K, I think they are all wet.

I drive about 20 miles a day total, only a few long trips per year, so a Leaf would cut the gas bill a bunch. Unsure I want to spend $7K+ on a 24 month lease to save gas, though.

P.S. I'm an old-school car guy, drive a turbo wagon...but think there's a place for both gas and electric on the streets.

 

[MrIanB]

Chirped tires on a Leaf test drive tonight out of Des Moines, Iowa. My first time piloting an electric, it was a pleasant experience. Plenty of grunt from the light, solid punch even from 30 MPH on up. The lack of a gas burner up front applified conversation and road noise.

I didn't realize the charger at the Nissan dealership is L2, not L3, so would probably opt out of the L3 port since there are none in town. The LED headlights are a techno touch I want, but unfortunately bundled in a port $$ package. Wonder if Cree is supplying the lights?

Never leased before, prefer to purchase outright and pay her off in two or three years. But the Leaf is begging for a lease, with a big bertha Li-ion that some sites claim is worth $18,000 (http://green.autoblog.com/2010/05/15/nissan-leaf-profitable-by-year-three-battery-cost-closer-to-18/). I've seen people on this site peg the battery at $6K, I think they are all wet.

I drive about 20 miles a day total, only a few long trips per year, so a Leaf would cut the gas bill a bunch. Unsure I want to spend $7K+ on a 24 month lease to save gas, though.

P.S. I'm an old-school car guy, drive a turbo wagon...but think there's a place for both gas and electric on the streets.

Recommend you lease to get full $7500 upfront, make a couple of payments and then go back to dealer and let them know that you want to turn lease into purchase.

Good luck,

Ian B

 

[Herm]

Since you live in Alaska expect a long battery life, and since you drive a 4WD Suburvan dragging a boat anchor then your fuel savings will be tremendous!

Did I guess right?

 

[Iowa92x]

Since you live in Alaska expect a long battery life, and since you drive a 4WD Suburvan dragging a boat anchor then your fuel savings will be tremendous!

Did I guess right?

Ha, Iowa gets 20 below in the winter, 110 in August. Gasser is mid 20s on mileage.

 

[TEG]

...The LED headlights are a techno touch I want, but unfortunately bundled in a port $$ package. Wonder if Cree is supplying the lights? ...

Valeo/Ichikoh:
http://nissan-leaf.net/2010/10/08/valeo-equips-nissan-leaf-with-led-headlamps/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://crispgreen.com/2010/10/new-nissan-leaf-gets-low-cost-led-headlights/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[vegastar]

I suppose that the as the US Leafs are now made in the US, it could make sense to get the LEDs from a local manufacturer (although a significant part of Cree manufacturing is made in China). 2 years in the LED market is like 10 years in the automotive market, so today there much more efficient and cost efective alternatives to the light source of the Headlamps. The problem is the redesign of the optical part that is needed to use a new LED, wich for a low volume car like the Leaf could not be cost effective.